A TEENAGER who carried out an unsuccessful robbery attempt at a village convenience store, while armed with a hammer, was told to expect an inevitable prison sentence.

The warning was given to Ian Ord after he admitted responsibility for the raid, during a short hearing at Durham Crown Court today (Wednesday September 9).

Appearing via video link from nearby Durham Prison, the 18-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, at Mosci’s store, in Horden, east Durham, on Monday, August 24.

He was said to have entered the Sunderland Road premises and instructed the assistant to: “Empty the till.”

Although she initially thought it may be a joke, Ord then produced a claw hammer and made threats.

He used the hammer to damage the counter and the area round the till, but was chased from the premises, and was arrested later at an address elsewhere in Horden.

Neil Bennett, for Ord, asked for preparation of a background report on his client by the Probation Service, prior to sentence.

Agreeing, Judge Christopher Prince told Ord that regardless of the contents of the report, “prison is inevitable” in this case.

Ord, of Vicarage Flats, Brandon, near Durham, was remanded in custody until the sentencing hearing, on October 2.